| | > We believe you… a sentence that, on paper, conveys reassurance and attentiveness, but in this lean yet dauntless Belgian drama — and in the horrible, under-discussed reality it depicts — it equals promises of basic consideration and protection that legal systems fail to meet, hiding behind the notion that “law is a really complicated thing”.
| | > Burdened as a wounded heart and twice as unflinching, “We Believe You” tackles themes of domestic abuse — especially toward children — the challenges of proving and reporting it, and the way the ensuing legal processes turn into battlefields where family members are forced to confront themselves and each other and where children’s safety is at stake. It does so by looking straight into the viewers’ eyes, through a strong screenplay and a particularly hard hitting monologue — but also through subtle details in both the mise-en-scène and the actors’ facial expressions & body language. Close-ups are used efficiently, never feeling as a replacement but rather as a support to an already well-conveyed psychological claustrophobia, and the acting from Myriem Akheddiou is some of — if not the — best I’ve seen this year so far, with scenes that feel almost as if you were watching documentary footage.
| | > “We Believe You” exists solely to raise awareness about an urgent issue, and even though I prefer films that pair that intention with a thicker narrative and characters through which the commentary can flow — “We Believe You” is undeniably deeply effective and well-made.
| | > We believe you… a sentence that, on paper, conveys reassurance and attentiveness, but in this lean yet dauntless Belgian drama — and in the horrible, under-discussed reality it depicts — it equals promises of basic consideration and protection that legal systems fail to meet, hiding behind the notion that “law is a really complicated thing”.
| | > Burdened as a wounded heart and twice as unflinching, “We Believe You” tackles themes of domestic abuse — especially toward children — the challenges of proving and reporting it, and the way the ensuing legal processes turn into battlefields where family members are forced to confront themselves and each other and where children’s safety is at stake. It does so by looking straight into the viewers’ eyes, through a strong screenplay and a particularly hard hitting monologue — but also through subtle details in both the mise-en-scène and the actors’ facial expressions & body language. Close-ups are used efficiently, never feeling as a replacement but rather as a support to an already well-conveyed psychological claustrophobia, and the acting from Myriem Akheddiou is some of — if not the — best I’ve seen this year so far, with scenes that feel almost as if you were watching documentary footage.
| | > “We Believe You” exists solely to raise awareness about an urgent issue, and even though I prefer films that pair that intention with a thicker narrative and characters through which the commentary can flow — “We Believe You” is undeniably deeply effective and well-made.